7 – Dad and Dog

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of howling. A high, keening sound that made me crack one eye open. Smoke rose too, a grumbling growl forming in his throat.

In that moment, a predatory gleam in his slitted eyes, it was easy to forget that Smoke had human intelligence. Then and there he looked very much like a wild hellcat, his annoyance such that his black fur was fluffing out.

"Easy," I said, holding a hand toward him.

That sound came about again, a yipping and youthful sound. "Some kind of pup?" I muttered, raising my brows.

"An ugly beast, regardless of age," Smoke sneered. "Do not worry, Father, I shall deal with it."

"No, you will not," I said, huffing. "Calm yourself, would you? You're acting absurd."

It was a muggy evening. We'd been having a hot spell of late in Tiode, and even the night's sea breeze did little to quell the warmth. It didn't bother me, but I could see how restless Smoke was.

I moved quickly, while the howling from outside became stronger. More insistent.

Smoke followed me outside, into the dark, and it wasn't long until we found the source of the sound at the roadside. A small jet black jackal cub with stripes of pale gold breaking through the dark like those of a tiger.

Couldn't have been more than a few months old, so small as it was, with its ears floppy on the sides of its head. It stared up at me with sad, wet eyes, and shuddered despite the warmth. A few claw-marks had been hewn into its flesh, crusted with blood.

Glancing beyond the jackal I could see the likely source of the wound: some breed of hawk, near twice as big as the cub, its throat torn wide open. Explained all the red on the jackal's muzzle.

"Huh." I managed a smirk. "Tough little creature, aren't you?" I reached down to pet the jackal and it bit me right on the fingertip. Sharp fangs, I noted. Probably would have hurt a hell of a lot if it was a normal human it had bit.

All of Smoke's raven fur fluffed outward in a distinctly feline form of rage. "You DARE strike my fath-"

"Smoke, I'm fine," I said, rolling my eyes toward the hellcat. "You've seen someone flatten me into a damn mountain to no ill-effect, you know this blighter can't hurt me. Relax."

Smoke bristled, glaring between me and the growling jackal. Then he took a breath. "Father, a plains jackal is a vicious beast. Do not be fooled by her so-called 'cute' appearance."

"'Her'?" I repeated, raising my brows.

"My sense of smell is very sharp," Smoke said, proudly shoving his dark nose into the air.

"Mm. Well," I lifted the cub into my hands, and her shaking lessened just a tad. "She's about to get her wounds tended to."

"Father," Smoke whined. "Don't tell me you intend to take that beast in!"

I shrugged at him. "Why not? I have room for more. But making sure she doesn't die is most important right now." Maybe I was simply getting soft in my old age, but I tended to like animals. And I respected the jackal already.

Anyone willing to fight someone twice their size, and win at that, deserved some sort of reward. Certainly, they deserved something better than dying at the roadside.

The door to Asquith's home opened a crack and the man stared bleary-eyed at me, holding a dish upon which flickered a camera. "Master Eamon?" he asked.

"Need your help and it's quicker to get to your home than Guang's. You got anything for tending wounds?"

"Mm. I do have some... disinfecting agents, yes," he said, trailing off into a yawn. "Not to sound insensitive but surely you're not in so much pain that you couldn't wait until-"

He blinked as I held the jackal toward him. My grip was firm, and good thing too because she growled once I held her a little closer to the alchemist, snapping her sharp teeth as best she could in her tired, injured state.

"Tending... animals is not my forte," he said.

"But you know how to treat wounds?" I asked.

"Indeed," said Asquith, slightly more awake.

"And you have the equipment for it?"

"I'd be a ruddy poor alchemist if I didn't."

"Wonderful." I pushed past him with the jackal pup in my grasp. Smoke followed after, an indignant scowl on his face. Seemed he was intent on being a brat over this.

A strong herbal stink hung in the air of Asquith's home, utterly unsurprisingly. More than one room we passed had a myriad of mason jars on each shelf, crammed to the brim with an assortment of leaves, powders, oils, salves, and all manner of other things I had no frame of reference for.

"Through here, I suppose," Asquith said, resigned got whatever was to come. "I am happy to help a creature in need, only er... well please keep a good grip on the pup, eh? I'd rather not have some big bloody teeth sunken into my hand."

"Understandable."

It was surprisingly difficult to hold the pup in place, who yowled and writhed in my grasp as her wounds were cleaned and disinfected. I had rather precise control of my own strength, but I didn't want to risk hurting what was undoubtedly a very fragile creature.

Eventually Asquith got the job done, and something in the drugs left her sleepy and lolling on the examination table as the bandages were applied.

"There," Asquith said, glancing up at me. "She should be fine now. Make sure she drinks and eats when she wakes."

"My thanks, Asquith," I said.

"Yes, well, er... I hope you don't think I expect nothing in return for all this. Waking a man in the dead of night and asking him to render medical work? It's not something I'd do solely as an act of charity, my good chum."

"Money?" I asked.

Asquith shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. For now I suppose we'll say its a favour I can call in if the need arises."

I grunted at him. I wanted to complain, but he had a point. I'd just barged in on the man, all but dragged him out of bed, and asked him to tend a wild animal.

In truth I'd gone to Asquith over Guang because... well I had the distinct feeling Guang wouldn't have tolerated the intrusion at all. And I was at that stage of my life where forcing people to comply was not a good thing to do, and I was trying to move away from twisting arms if I could help it.

"Fine, fine." I hoisted the sleeping jackal into my arms, who squeaked and lazily tried to move in my grasp. She gave up quickly. "Thank you, Asquith. I owe you. And I'll pay you back when you ask."

Asquith managed a tired smile. "That's the hope, sir."

We left him behind, walking back toward my farmhouse. Smoke glared at the sleeping bundle in my arms. "I can't believe you're taking this beast in, Father," he said.

"What's the big deal?" I asked. "You've been agitated all night."

"My kin and hers have been rivals for generations, vying for food and space. My blood calls her a threat."

The jackal yawned, splaying her mouth wide.

"Doesn't seem like her blood is calling for anything," I said.

"Make no mistake, Father," Smoke told me firmly, "that jackal is a bloodthirsty beast, and she is a danger!"

The jackal fell asleep in my arms. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. "I ain't planning on keeping her. Just gonna take care of her until she can hit the road again on her own. Relax, I don't even want a dog."